'He's driven the lads forward' - Stuart King praises 'phenomenal' Carrick Rangers star and dedicates European play-off success to entire club

Knowing a point would be good enough to secure seventh spot, the County Antrim outfit defeated Glenavon 2-1 at Mourneview Park thanks to David Cushley’s penalty and a Curtis Allen strike as they finished three points ahead of Dungannon Swifts, who completed a split clean sweep by comfortably beating Ballymena United 3-0.

Carrick have continued to tick off significant club milestones over recent weeks with their best-ever top-flight points return (50) and number of victories (15), but this latest success now puts them just two matches away from a spot in Europa Conference League qualifying for next season – something which is worth at least €150,000.

The last time Carrick were in Europe was during the 1976/77 Cup Winners' Cup, where they defeated Luxembourg’s Aris before losing out to Southampton over two legs, and King expressed his pride at everyone who has played a role ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Seaview.

"It's absolutely phenomenal - that's for every single person at the club that volunteers in the academy, volunteers around the club, works in the shop, works in commercial, people on the board that help me out and the fans...that's for everybody,” he told the club’s media channel. “It's unreal and never been done by our club before.

"I love breaking records and we've done it four weeks in a row now. I'm so, so proud of my players and so proud of everybody at the club. It's a team effort and that's why we're here today because everybody does their bit.

"I'm honestly so happy - I can't believe what we've achieved. All the hard work has been worth it."

Captain Cushley has played a vital role throughout the split, scoring in their 3-1 come-from-behind victory over Newry City two weeks ago and then held his nerve in Lurgan to put his team ahead from the spot after Dungannon had taken an early lead themselves.

The 34-year-old made 35 league appearances throughout the season, scoring seven goals in the process, and his previous European experience – Cushley played nine times across various competitions for Stephen Baxter’s Crues between 2016 and 2019 – could prove pivotal.

"Cush has been phenomenal,” added King. “He's playing injured and been absolutely top drawer since Christmas.

"He's so good, he's been a leader, driven the lads forward, demanded the best from everybody and he puts the penalty away. I can't praise them all enough.

"It was a slow start and I was concerned because we looked edgy...we had a lot to play for and we knew Dungannon would win so we needed a result."